Unknown Soldiers
by Allen the Musician
Summary: Those chosen to fight in a war that was largely unknown. Most didn't think about their fate but merely used their gifts to fight; some resented the battles but fought anyway; Then, there was Allen. The soldier who fought for a completely different reason.


Disclaimer - I do not own D Gray Man

Allen

The Black Order had received word that a small town in France had been plagued by a large number of Akuma and so Allen, Lavi and Lenalee were dispatched to take care of the problem and discern whether Innocence was involved. This mission didn't appear to be anything terribly difficult and the Exorcists were preoccupied with other thoughts as they made their way toward the train that would take them to their destination.

As they walked toward their train Lavi scanned the crowd and his eyes widened as his gaze fell upon a gorgeous blond woman who seemed to be walking toward the same train. "Strike!" he exclaimed, raising his fist into the air in triumph.

"You know Lavi," Lenalee said as she walked between her two companions, a reproachful expression in her violet eyes. "One of these days that's going to come back to haunt you."

"Maybe," Lavi said, his gaze still locked on the blond. It was obvious by his body language that he really couldn't care less about what could possibly happen in the future. He was completely focused on the here and the now. And HER. "But until it does..."

Allen only vaguely registered the words of his two comrades as he too gazed around the crowd. As always he was searching for any signs of a threat, feeling the need to be always on the alert. With the aid of his cursed eye the young boy with the white hair could tell that there were no Akuma in the vicinity and this allowed him to relax somewhat. He didn't relax completely because Akuma could appear at any second but he was somewhat less cautious.

As some of the tension left his lithe body the young Exorcist began to take note of the people who were milling around the train station, viewing them as actual people now and not as possible threats. The people around them seemed to be going on about their business without a care in the world and vaguely Allen wondered what it would be like to be so oblivious.

After all most people were unaware of the threat that could take their lives at any given moment. It wasn't common knowledge that Akuma existed and that the Millennium Earl was planning to destroy the world using these weapons possessing human souls.

What they said was true, ignorance really was bliss.

The group of teenagers were getting strange looks from some of the crowd as they made their way toward the crowd but of course Allen was used to this kind of treatment and could easily shrug it off. Due to their uniforms and battle hardened demeanor, Exorcists always received weird looks from civilians who knew nothing of what they did. Knew nothing of the war that they fought every day. And it wasn't as though people had looked at him any different before he joined the Black Order.

His deformed left arm had insured that he had received those looks his entire life.

The young Exorcist took the looks in stride and soon he, Lavi and Lenalee were settled into their private car. The Black Order had good ties with the railroads since the Exorcists tended to travel so much and this ensured that they always had good accommodations.

A rare comfort to the battle weary Exorcists.

The Millennium Earl had stepped up his operations, which meant that the missions that they were sent out on were becoming more frequent as well as much more difficult. The war was reaching a climax and still the vast majority of people didn't even realize that a war was being fought.

The Exorcists were the unknown soldiers fighting an unknown war so that the blissfully unaware masses could go on about their lives. This was their duty in life and most accepted it as par for the course. Some resented it but did it anyway.

And then there was Allen.

The young white haired Exorcist fought for a completely different reason. Having personally experienced the tragedy that gave birth to the Akuma that the Earl employed in his war against humanity Allen fought for those whose souls were trapped and in pain. Fought for the Akuma who were powerless to stop killing and yet at the same time were forced to suffer because of it.

It was for them that he risked his life every day.

Of course Allen would also do anything for the humans that the Akuma were forced to target but that wasn't what had initially led him to take part in this war. The young man's thoughts flashed back to Mana and he was once again forced to relive one of the worst moments of his life.

The moment in which he had damned his foster father by turning him into an Akuma.

"Hey Allen!" Having noticed that the younger boy had spaced out, Lavi waved his hand in front of Allen's face. And when this failed to illicit a response the Junior Bookman pulled a black permanent marker from his pocket, a sinister grin appearing on his face.

"Don't even think about it," Allen muttered, emerging from his inner turmoil just in time to see the tip of the marker moving toward his face. It had taken him hours to scrub off the ink the last time that Lavi had graffitied his face and, having lost a great deal of skin in the process, he was loathe to experience that again.

"Aww," Lavi whined as he shoved the marker back into his pocket. Allen just had to wake up and ruin all of his fun. It really wasn't fair and now he was bored again.

"What were you thinking about Allen?" Lenalee asked, fixing the boy across from her with a questioning gaze.

"Unknown soldiers," Allen replied, choosing to omit the memory from his past. It wasn't something that he wanted to talk about right now and he knew that if he mentioned it then Lenalee would press him for details. She meant well but there were some things that were better left unsaid.

Both Lenalee and Lavi looked confused by his words.

"Us," Allen said in explanation, gazing out the window and watching the scenery that was flying by. "The soldiers of Fate, fighting a war that no one even knows about."

"Oh," Lenalee said, at a loss for what to say.

"Cheer up bean sprout," Lavi said, slinging an arm around the boy who was sitting beside him. The use of the nickname that he despised served to jar Allen out of his angsty mood and, glaring at Lavi, he quickly removed the older boy's arm from around his shoulders.

"My name's Allen!'

As she watched the two boys scuffling in the seat across from her Lenalee thought about Allen's words. She had never given it much thought before but unknown soldiers really was a good way to describe the members of the Black Order. For them, doing a good job meant not only fighting the enemy and tracking down Innocence but also keeping people from realizing the danger that they were in.

"Um Lenalee.... a little help.... please...."

Lenalee's gaze refocused on the two boys just in time to watch as Lavi's face turned blue. Unable to keep herself from laughing Lenalee helped Lavi free himself from the headlock that Allen had him caught in before he succumbed to lack of oxygen.

"Come on Allen," she coaxed as she pulled at the white haired Exorcist's arms. "Let him go. We'll have a hard time explaining things if you kill him before we even reach our destination."

"I... don't... care..." Allen snarled, refusing to release his grip.

Still smiling Lenalee poked Allen in the ribs, which startled the boy and succeeded in getting him to release the death grip that he had on Lavi. The Bookman in training slumped down in his seat and it looked as though he would be quiet for the remainder of their trip. After all, it was more difficult to speak while you were unconscious. But at least his face was regaining some of the color that it had lost. Allen watched as Lavi slumped forward and a dark aura suddenly surrounded him. It was apparent that an evil plan was forming in that twisted little mind of his.

Lenalee shivered as she watched Dark Allen appear.

With skilled hands Allen reached into the pocket of Lavi's coat and within seconds produced a black permanent marker. Vaguely curious about when Allen had learned to be a pick pocket Lenalee watched as he proceeded to drawn on the face of the unconscious Lavi.

"I should stop him..." Lenalee thought to herself. Then she shook her head, recalling all of the times that Allen had returned from a mission with Lavi with ink all over his face. "On second thought, he deserves it."

And so the unknown soldiers traveled onward.

A/N - Wrote this while listening to the Breaking Benjamin song, Unknown Soldiers. Not sure how I feel about it but here it is. Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think about it.


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